March 2, 2024 - Pretty nose with brown sugar, almonds, cinnamon, and a bit of orange peel. Palate is slightly sweet, full bodied, well balanced with acidity and a hint of bitterness. Very long finish with sweetness, acidity, and a lovely energy. Really quite nice. Has been my favorite of the rare wine historic series.
November 25, 2023 - I am really enjoying the adventure of getting to know Madeira. I’m still early on the journey, yet am very impressed with this bottling. Deep mahogany color. Penetrating nose that’s filled with fig jam, caramel and roasted honey/nuts. The palate is rich and there is a wave of sweetness on the attack. Then things really get interesting as the sweetness recedes and this wonderful nutty fruit extract takes over. Tobacco. There is great depth and a long finish. I know it’s not the most “precious” bottling or 100 years old, but I think it really delivers. (94)
November 20, 2023 - Light amber. Only moderate sweetness. Nutty, gentle fig, excellent acidity, good length. Very good savory Madeira that still works as an after dinner wine.
April 15, 2022 - This is very good. Needed a few days to open, but then this showed very comparably to a 65-year-old Verdelho I had recently. Strong backbone of acid with good complexity. Maybe just a tad short on the finish, but this is excellent value and a step above the others in the historic series.
November 20, 2020 - Great stuff. Medium dry with smoky notes. Fig, vanilla, light caramel. Light bodied and little sweetness so easy to drink as an aperitif or after dinner.
July 3, 2020 - Best port so far. Described as an almost apple pie type taste
February 27, 2019 - Amber. Complex, salty, medium weight, not terribly sweet or fruit driven.
November 12, 2017 - Aromatically enticing, showing notes brown sugar, sea mist, toasted pine nut and salted nuts along with scents of dried white fig, dried stone fruit and hints of chocolate.
Medium dry on the palate with great acid structure and a silky mouthfeel. flavors echo the nose with notes of roasted nuts, brown sugar, fig, sea salt, caramel, dried stone fruit and hints of milk chocolate and exotic spice. Gains intensity on the long finish
May 18, 2017 - Has gotten to a sweet spot after a month in the fridge. Medium dry, with hints of caramel, nuts and gravel, and with just a hint of sweetness. Great pairing with dark chocolate. 19% ABV.
April 27, 2017 - Madeira Seminar and Guided Tasting (Cream Wine Company - Chicago IL): Great tasting experiment. We tasted the 4 components (Malvasia, Verdelho, Sercial, Tinta Negra) in addition to the finished wine.
Medium dry with fig, earth, milk chocolate and pine nuts. Very elegant and very balanced.
(a) Malvasia (10 yo) makes up approx 35% of the blend. Sweet and structurally powerful, if not particularly elegant.
(b) Verdelho (10 yo) makes up approx 35% of the blend. Floral and very expressive.
(c) Sercial (30 yo) makes up approx 20% of the blend. Rich and powerful with lots of fig and toasted nut notes. Most interesting flavors, also with bone shaking acidity.
(d) Tinta Negra (70yo) makes up approx 10% of the blend. Rich and decadent with 150-160 g RS, but does not seem that sweet because of flavor intensity, even if not particularly complex on its own.